The Egyptian

Today, the glory of ancient Egypt

is ruins and dust.

And this greatest of the earth's earliest civilizations

are things of darkness and mystery.

These mighty monuments tell us of a people

who were rulers of the world.

Created a civilization never surpassed in beauty and splendor.

But the Egyptians were not only builders of monuments

they were human beings, no different from ourselves.

This is the story of a man

who dwelled in the ancient land of the Nile.

Thirty-three centuries ago.

I, Sinuhe the Egyptian

write this

in my place of exile, on the shores of the Red Sea.

There is no more desolate spot on earth.

Soon the jackals and the vultures

will make a poor meal of what is left of me.

No monument will mark my resting place.

I will leave only this.

The story of my life.

I have lived fully and deeply.

I have tasted passion, crime

and even murder.

It is for you to judge me.

You must weigh the good against the evil.

The passion against the tenderness.

The crime against the charity.

The pleasure against the pain.

I began life as I am ending it, alone.

I rode alone on the bosom of the Nile.

In a boat of reeds daubed with pitch and tied with fowler's knots.

Thus the city of Thebes was accustomed to dispose of its unwanted children.

I grew up on the waterfront of the city.

In the house of my foster parents.

Who had saved me from the river.

My foster father lived there by choice.

Because he was, also by choice, physician of the poor of the city.

From the rich he could have commanded princely fees.

For he alone in Thebes, was the master

of the ancient art of opening skulls.

Have more of the good wine ready.

Afraid, Sinuhe?

Good.

You must never fear death.

In our craft death is a familiar companion.

This time we cheat him.

Look.

This tiny splinter of bone pressing on the brain.

When I remove it

he will speak again.

Will walk, and live.

Why father? Why?

No one knows.

From the beginning I kept to myself.

I used to wander alone on the banks of the Nile.

Until the day came when I was ready to enter the School of Life.

In the School of Life

were trained the chosen young men of Egypt.

The future scientists and philosophers

statesmen and generals.

All learning of Egypt

lay in the keeping of the Gods.

For ten years, I serve them in the school.

That I might earn the right to call myself a "physician."

I learned to bend my body to them.

But that was all.

My mind still asked the question:

"Why?"

Sinuhe...

be careful, the priests!

Free wine!

To the health of our classmate, Horemheb!

The best swordsman, the finest horseman

the fastest runner, and the strongest wrestler.

And the first one to tell you that!

Well, if you don't speak well of yourself

no one will do it for you.

This I learned from the gods.

You drunk to what I am

now drink to what I will be.

For the day will come, when I will carry the Golden Whip

and lead you all into battle.

Hey, you're not drinking, my friend.

- Wine! - He's had enough.

Never enough for a friend.

Finish the night in some gutter with his throat cut.

He's under my protection.

To your future!

Look at our brilliant physician!

The honor student!

He's got the reeling sickness!

Can I help you?

Just a second. Don't throw things at my friend!

He's alive!

Who is he?

He's a stubborn arrogant fool, but he is my best friend.

Then take him home.

A tavern wench can't give orders to the son of a Falcon.

The son of a cheese-maker! Take him home!

Good night physician.

Your friend is the fool, not you.

Why does no one ever answer me when I ask "why"?

Come on, let's go.

How did she know your father was a cheese-maker?

The Queen of Cities

Thebes, of the hundred gates.

Capital of the world.

After my graduation from the School of Life.

I set myself up as physician on the waterfront.

Far from my father's house.

Lest I steal his patients from him.

But I found that not even the poorest of patients

would come to the door of so young a physician.

I had to go out into the streets in search of them.

Too late for that one.

Come over here, into the shade.

Here, sit down!

I can help you.

Under certain conditions, blindness can be cured with a needle.

Alas, no physician can restore my eye.

My first master put it out

when I drank a jar of beer

and refilled in a manner which displeased him.

Then what is the matter with you?

Nothing, I'm as healthy as the 40 sacred baboons.

My name is Kaptah

and I've decided to be your servant.

Even if I needed one, I couldn't afford it.

And if I could afford it, I wouldn't employ a ragged beggar.

I may be ragged, but I'm intelligent

and I am handsome

and I can read.

Well, you're quite right, master, I am a poor servant.

But than you're a poor physician and deserve no better.

I shall obey your orders.

You may beat me, within reason.

And in return, I will steal from you

also within reason.

Then you admit you're a thief?

We are all thieves. Only the dishonest ones deny it.

I will improve your reputation.

People will say:

"He must be a good physician if he can afford a servant".

With one eye? They will say:

"He must be a poor physician not to have cured his own servant".

Well, I shall say that when you first bought me I was totally blind

and that you restored half my sight.

Master!

Master!

Heave!... Heave!... Heave!...

Heave!... Heave!... Heave!...

Master, master!

Master, come quickly!

Come quickly!

Look! This is your chance!

I told you I would make your reputation.

Come here everybody!

Come here and watch!

You shall see such wonders as your eyes have never beheld.

The gods themselves has instructed my master in his art.

Known to him are the ancient spells and potions of our ancestors.

Come here and watch!

Someone bring water.

Here's water.

Moisten the cloth, and squeeze it between his lips.

I'll need fire to purify my instruments.

Fire, bring fire, for the worker of wonders!

The fire won't be needed. He's dead.

Wonders! Observe the wisdom and mercy of my master!

Lest this poor soul

be forced to hobble for the rest of his life on one foot.

My master has granted him the boon of death.

No one could have saved him.

Saved him?

For what?

So the young physician is still asking "why"?

Master...

that's a dangerous woman.

Dangerous?

The look in her eyes, the look of a carping call of a ewe for

it's lamb.

Beware of such looks, master, her mind

is on breaking a jar with you... on marriage.

I don't even know her name.

Her name was Merit. She was a tavern maid.

And she could neither read, nor write.

She loved me all her life.

But this I didn't learn

until it was too late.

People of Thebes!

Ask pity of the gods.

Pharaoh is dead.

They have been caterwauling all night!

Do these fools think that they can bring pharaoh back to life?

Why don't you take him home? It's early morning.

What's wrong with him?

He was refused an appointment in the palace guards

because of his birth.

You don't have to lower your voice.